


Presence

by alsoyouremischievous



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-10-11 23:25:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17456270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alsoyouremischievous/pseuds/alsoyouremischievous
Summary: Sometimes you don't need to understand the issue in order to be part of the solution.





	Presence

Being the bad guy isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. And being a good guy who has to act like a bad guy? Well, that fucking sucks.

Virgil managed to convince Thomas not to take the early morning course that would have wreaked havoc on his life but in the process, he’d ended up on Logic’s bad side. He’d always thought he’d had an understanding with the logical side - he was anxiety, and Thomas needed anxiety to function, so as long as he did his job they could work together. He hadn’t been deluded into thinking they were friends by any stretch of the imagination but Logic was the most likely to understand Virgil’s reasoning and sometimes even more willing to compromise than Morality.

He doubted that was true anymore.

_“It’s a miracle Thomas can even live his life with you around, inhibiting him at every opportunity.”_

It’s a fair statement.

Thomas just wanted to learn about the stars. There’s no harm in that. Logic was so excited, how often does that happen?

Why did he have to ruin it? Why does he have to ruin everything?

No wonder the other sides hate his presence. Morality’s always polite enough about not wanting him around but that doesn’t change the fact that _he doesn’t want him around_. Even deceit only tolerates him because fear fosters self-preservation and it’s easier for him to lie when Thomas is in that state of mind.

Air sticks in his throat, more being sucked in than he can push back out.

What’s going to happen now that even logic doesn’t want him around?

His fingers tremble as he pulls his hands close to his chest.

Between the three main sides, they could probably manage to keep Thomas from ever listening to him again. Morality’s afraid of him, so with Logic telling the parental side that it’s for the best… And Creativity-

“ **Tale as old as time, True as it can be!** ”

Faint singing drifted in from the commons. Virgil had no doubt the prince figure must be belting at the very top of his lungs in order for it to be heard from his room.

“ **Barely even friends, Then somebody bends, Unexpectedly...** ”

The song continues as Virgil sighs and the world starts to refocus where it had become blurry around the edges.

If Virgil isn’t good for Thomas then the other sides will handle it how they see fit. He knows they all want what’s best for their host. He can only try his best to keep Thomas safe.

“ **Just a little change, Small to say the least-** ”

For now, though, he would just listen.

 

***

 

Stupid.

A loud bang startled him - maybe the dishes piled up in Thomas’ sink had shifted - and he’d panicked. Thoughts of home invasions and demogorgons had swirled through his mind and he’d pushed adrenaline through Thomas’ system, ready to instill fight or flight as needed.

It was only a split second before he’d realized there was no real threat, but he’d already scared Thomas. He reigns in the adrenaline and allows Logic’s influence back in as Thomas lets out a nervous giggle. That should be enough to set Thomas back on course.

He, however, is a different case. His heart is beating a chaotic rhythm in his chest and he still feels like there’s a threat to deal with just out of his grasp.

A small groan escapes his lips as he drags himself out of his room to get some water from the common area. The other sides will be sure to bring this up the next time they meet. He can just picture Princey’s smug grin. _Protecting Thomas from things that go bump in the night are you, Freak Out Boy?_

What a stupid thing to panic over-

Virgil comes to a full stop at the bottom of the stairs. Creativity is in the common area, but he doesn’t look annoyed. In fact, he looks… pumped up?

The dramatic side is muttering to himself as he dumps several sheaths of paper and a scribbler onto the small table in the mirror of Thomas’ living room. He stoops over and begins frantically flipping through the papers, conjuring a pen from thin air only to stick it between his lips.

Virgil takes a cautious step forward. “Hey.”

The other side’s only response is a belated hum as he pulls the pen from his mouth to scribble something out.

“I’m just getting a glass of water…”

This elicits no response at all and Virgil starts creeping towards the kitchen.

The tap squeaks when he turns it on. A muted murmuring starts up again, something about a… dragon witch?

Maybe the scare wasn’t such a big deal after all.

The sound of papers being shuffled around is strangely soothing, and the water is cool when he takes a sip. His heart starts to steady out in his chest.

 

***

 

Virgil shouldn’t be in the common room.

The past dictates that he only leaves his room to talk to Thomas, taunt the others, or grab something from the kitchen before he retreats again. So he really shouldn’t be sitting on the couch with his headphones on scrolling through his phone as though he belongs here.

It’s not like one video would change the status quo, right? Thomas decided to work through things with Anxiety instead of without, that doesn’t mean that the others want him hanging around in a space that’s meant to be theirs.

It was ridiculous for him to come out here just because he was tired of the darkness of his room. If he focuses he could brighten the place up for a while anyway.

He tenses, ready to leave before anyone can come through and be bothered by him.

A flurry of movement to his right interrupts him though. Too late.

Roman is half skipping, half walking towards the kitchen and his signature outfit is nowhere to be seen. Instead, he’s wearing a tight t-shirt and sweatpants that are rolled up enough to show that he’s not wearing any socks. On top of that, he’s absolutely covered head to toe in splatters of yellow paint.

Roman’s face brightens up just a touch as he waves to Virgil, paint from his fingers flicking off onto the floor. He continues on to the kitchen, barely taking a moment to snag some snacks before hurrying back up the stairs, presumably to return to his painting.

Virgil glances at the paint on the floor. Logan is going to be pissed when he sees it.

He settles in to wait.

 

***

 

“What are four things you can see kiddo?”

“Virgil, remember to breathe in for four seconds.”

“Come on Verge, you can find four things can’t you?”

“Hold for seven seconds-”

“Just list them off for me buddy-”

There’s a moment of silence to break the barrage of information being thrown at him and Virgil chances a glance at his surroundings.

Roman is standing just a few steps away and is visibly blanching at the scene he stumbled upon. Virgil can imagine why considering he’s in the throes of a panic attack and Patton and Logan are crouched over him like overbearing gargoyles.

“S-sorry, I’ll…” Roman trails off, already turning away.

Virgil thinks of distant music drifting through his doorway. He thinks of the calm lull of a pen being dragged across paper. And yellow paint dripping from fingers.

“Nn-” a half aborted protest leaves his lips as he scrambles up. He finds himself clinging to the other side and distantly he isn’t sure if it was his decision to do so.

“Wh-” Roman splutters, “I don’t even know what’s wrong?”

He smells like laundry detergent. Virgil isn’t really sure why he expected something like cedar or bergamot but the detergent is nice anyway.

“It appears,” Logan says from behind them, sounding bemused, “that you don’t need to understand the issue in order to be part of the solution.”

Roman’s arms hold him close.

“Happy to help,” he says, and if he sounds surprised, well... Virgil won’t hold it against him.

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted this to be fluff and it is... Not quite fluff? This is a gift for @haveyourselfamerrylittlebitchmas over on tumblr who is my QPP, go check her out!


End file.
